


Stuck In Betweenin'

by springonions_withranch



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Gay Awakening, Inspired by The Kissing Booth (2018), M/M, Set in California, The Author Regrets Nothing, allison is SBO Vice President, ben and diego are on the same swim team, ben hargreeves is bi, ben is SBO Secretary, klaus is the art club president, luther is SBO President, none of them have been adopted by reginald in this, public american high school au, they're all juniors in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:21:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27543766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/springonions_withranch/pseuds/springonions_withranch
Summary: Between training for Sectionals and trying to plan for the Winter Festival, Ben Hwang doesn't have time for social activities. Or new friends. Or, more importantly, new enemies.So why does he keep on running into a certain, green-eyed boy? (Sometimes more literally than others.)-or-the High School AU nobody asked for
Relationships: Allison/Luther (it just works for this plot im sorry), Ben Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & The Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves/Lila Pitts, Klaus Hargreeves & The Hargreeves
Comments: 24
Kudos: 41





	1. It takes two to start a war

**Author's Note:**

> OMG we're back again!
> 
> jus sum notes:  
> -I made Ben's last name in this 'Hwang'  
> -This fic will most likely be from his perspective  
> -I was reminded of the chaotic movie "The Kissing Booth" a few days ago, and this was born  
> -This is inspired by "Stuck In The Middle" by Tai Verdes and "In Betweenin'" by Austin Brown

**_You know what she said to me?_ **

**_She said_ **

**_"You're a player aren't you?"_ **

**_"And I bet you got hoes"_ **

**_I said, "You don't know me like that"_ **

**_"I just go with the flow"_ **

**_\-- “Stuck In The Middle” by Tai Verdes_ **

There were multiple things Ben Hargreeves hated about 5 AM morning practice. 

No. 0.5) It was Monday. Waking up at the crack of ass on Mondays is easily one of the worst things about being a year-round swimmer.

No. 1) It was  _ way _ too early to be awake, and another was that it was cold as  _ fuck _ . Rarely did he ever attend a winter 5 AM practice and not see his breath, blending in with the steam from the pool. 

No. 2) His swim team, WART (Wasp Aquatics Racing Team), practiced twenty miles away from his house; this resulted in Ben having to wake up thirty minutes earlier than his other teammates to drive to practice. 

No. 3) He was always tired and groggy on the drive over to the pool; his dad would always try to give him a ‘pep’ talk (usually consisting of “Work hard today, son,” or “Good technique, yeah? I don’t want you to hurt your shoulder,” and blah blah blah), but Ben was usually so out of it he didn’t fully register his father’s ‘wise’ words.

No. 4) Ben’s only friend that consistently showed up to the 5 AM practice was Diego, who always joined him in the sprint group during sets.

“Ben! Nice of you to show up!” Ben is jerked out of his sullenness and looks at his coach, a man by the name of Brandon Williams, and replies, “Sorry, Coach Williams, I didn’t hear my alarm this morning.” 

Williams gives him an unimpressed look. “If you show you continue to show up late to practice, you’re not going to do well at Sectionals. Your teammates are putting in the work and arriving ready and on time. Are you?”

Ben looks down, embarrassed. “It won’t happen again, Coach. Sorry.” He sets his bag down and throws his parka off, exposing his bare skin to the frigid California air. Ben shivers and pulls his cap on, adding his goggles on top of it, and then grabs his gear and Hydroflask. 

“Lane 8, Ben,” he hears his coach say.  _ Ugh. Lane 8? Nobody likes the wall lane. I guess that’s what I get for being late _ , Ben thinks. He drops his stuff on the deck and hops in the pool, wheezing slightly as the warm water defrosts his body. 

“Hey, man! Was starting to think you were bailing on me!” Diego mutters to him. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t miss this hell for the world,” Ben grumbles back. Diego laughs and reassures him, “At least you’re not alone in the wall lane. We’ll get through it together!” Ben rolls his eyes and lowers his goggles to his eyes before sinking below the surface and pushing off the wall.

_ This is gonna be a long practice _ , he thinks.

* * *

It was hell, to say the least. Coach Williams made him stay five precious minutes after practice to single-handedly put the pool covers back on the pool. Five minutes he could have spent reviewing his notes for the student body officer meeting at his high school. Thankfully, the meeting wasn’t until lunch, so Ben could review the last meeting’s notes before school started. 

His first and second periods, English and AP Chemistry flew by quickly (as most of his favorite classes do), but third period, AP Calculus BC, dragged on. Ben flew out of his seat when the bell rang, signally the end of the period. Quickly rushing to the library (where SBO meetings were held), Ben crashed into a boy walking in the hallway. They tumbled over each other and landed on the ground. Ben was so focused on getting to the library he immediately jumped up, briefly meeting the boy’s olive green gaze.

“Sorry!” he yelped before rushing on to the library, arriving just in time to take a seat on the long table of officers. Ben didn’t stay behind long enough to hear the boy mutter, “Asshole.” He ripped out his notepad and pencil, ready to take minutes for the meeting (he was the secretary, after all).

Ben watched the Student Body President, a boy by the name of Luther, take a seat at the chair seated in the middle of the row. 

* * *

“Is everyone here?” Luther asks. The Vice President, a girl by the name of Allison, nods, and Luther continues. 

“As you all probably remember, this meeting’s format is going to be a little different as the Winter Festival is coming up. We are hosting a sort of ‘town-hall’ meeting today, and students will be coming in to present different booths for the festival at the end of December. Oh, also remember, we’re also hosting a ‘Winter Formal’ dance the day after the Festival, so the Festival is taking place on a Thursday this year. The dance is Friday,” Luther turns to Ben. “Ben, each student gets five minutes to present their idea. Keep time for us, will you?”

Ben nods. “You got it.” Luther gives him a thumbs up and says, “Let’s open the doors, then.” Allison tugs the library’s doors open to reveal a line of students. The first person steps forward into the library and Allison shuts the doors again. 

“Let’s hear your idea,” Ben prompts. 

* * *

“Next!” Allison calls to the now-shortened line. Fifteen more minutes go by before the line is now empty, save for one more student. “Are you our last appointment?” she asks the boy. He’s holding a poster board concealed by a large white sheet and is struggling to keep his hold on it. The boy nods and says, “You know what they say! Save the best for last, am I right?” 

Allison leads him to the table and prompts him to stand in front of them; he immediately props the poster board up and lets out a small sigh of relief. Luther says, “Now, we’ve heard a lot of ideas today, so we may be judging yours a bit more harshly. Good luck!”

“Your five minutes start n-” Ben starts, but as he directs his eyes to the boy’s, he is struck by recognition.  _ The boy from the hallway _ , Ben thinks, but the boy has already noticed him. The boy’s green eyes narrow, a distasteful smirk working its way on his delicate features. Thankfully, instead of chewing him out in front of his peers, the boy just shakes his head and starts talking, an excited, peppy smile working its way on his face.

“Hiya, folks! My name’s Klaus, and I’m the president of the Wilkes And Picasso Society (WAPS for short). We’re an art club that mainly focuses on photography and painting, hence our name. Anyways, my fellow artists and I have been brainstorming a few different ideas for the Winter Festival coming up, and we’ve decided on the best one. Behold-”

The curly-haired boy pulls the sheet off the poster board to reveal in large, loopy lettering the words  _ WSHS Kissing Booth _ . Ben spies Luther and Allison give each other a side-eye; he knows they’re already a quarter of the way on board with it. To be honest, it makes Ben a little sick to his stomach. Kissing booths, in his opinion, led to unwanted herpes and HIV outbreaks. Kissing, after all, spreads saliva and (possibly) other bodily fluids. 

“-the West Sac High School Kissing Booth!” the boy announces, throwing the SBO’s jazz hands. Klaus seems to notice Luther and Allison’s interest and forges ahead.

“The WSHS Kissing Booth is both a creative and intriguing way to kickstart people’s holiday,” he explains. “It could possibly kickstart new relationships throughout our fellow students and will bring in lots of customers, therefore benefitting the school, as 80% of the proceeds go to WSHS-”

“Excuse me,” Ben interrupts, unable to tolerate the idea anymore. “If we do approve of this ‘Kissing Booth,’ how are you planning to keep the students safe? Kissing can spread bodily fluids, such as saliva, and that can lead to sexually transmitted diseases like herpes. I don’t think anyone wants to deal with disease outbreaks, as that would create an  _ immense _ load of paperwork for something that could’ve been prevented. If you want my opinion-”

“Who says I do?” the boy shoots back, venom glittering in his eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, our student body is a democracy, and  _ not _ dictated by just one scrutinizing asshole. If your fellow officers are in favor of our ‘Kissing Booth,’ I reckon that outnumbers your vote, doesn’t it? From my point of view, it seems like your President and Vice President are almost on board with it.”

Ben spies Allison and Luther growing tomato red before meeting each other’s eyes for a moment. They quickly look away from each other, embarrassed.

“Now, Ben, let’s at least let Klaus have his five minutes before you go and shoot him down,” Luther pacifies. “Klaus, please continue.”

_ Fool, _ Ben thinks.  _ Only thinking about his now-growing chances of making out with Allison. What about the rest of us that aren’t driven by teenage hormones and raging testosterone? If only I were- _

“ _ Ahem _ , as I was saying. 80% of the proceeds will go toward WSHS, and guesstimating from the minuscule amount of romantic relationships at this school, we’re going to get a lot of foot traffic. If you’re still having trouble agreeing to this idea-”

Klaus gives Ben a pointed look.  _ Cocky prick _ .

“-I’ll provide you with a little scenario.”

“Imagine your day. It’s nothing special, just going through your daily routine as expected. Making your bed, brushing your teeth, maybe eating breakfast if time allows it. You arrive at school ten, maybe fifteen minutes early, and you meet up with your friends beneath the meeting spot below the oak tree in the quad. The first bell rings and you make your way to first period. The day progresses in a similar fashion, but something unexpected happens on your way to lunch. One minute you’re walking the crowded hallway with your best homie, the next you see a grand, obnoxious banner promoting the words ‘Winter Festival.’ No, the words and announcement themselves are normal enough, but the fine print below catches your eye. ‘Winter Formal Dance,’ the banner says, and you panic. In your monotonous, basic routine you have forgotten one of the most exciting things about being a high schooler: getting a significant partner. You and your homie turn to each other and probably say something along the lines of, ‘Holy shit, mate, who the fuck am I gonna bring?’ Then you most likely make a pact to be each other’s wing-people, and that if you can’t get a date, hell, you’ll go with each other-”

“Time! Your five minutes are up!” Ben exclaims, happy to shut him up. “Thank you for your ideas, and we will give them consideration before reaching a decision,” he rushes.

Klaus pouts and grabs his poster board wordlessly. Who was he to argue with time? "Thank you for your ti-"

“Wait.”

Ben cranks his head to the side so fast he might have gotten whiplash.  _ Who just spoke? _ he wonders before the person speaks again.

“Klaus, we thank you for your time. I think this is one of the best ideas we have received today! In fact, if you want to come back tomorrow and pitch the rest of it, our doors are wide open! Isn’t that right, Luther?” Allison says, a loaded look in her eye. She turns to Luther and smiles at him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. “Klaus can give us the rest of the ‘Kissing Booth’ idea tomorrow, right?” she asks. It’s not much of a question, however, but it’s not like Luther was going to decline. “Of course! Looking forward to it!” Luther tells Klaus.

_ Weak-minded ape _ , Ben thinks bitterly.  _ Allison always had too much power over people, anyway. I’m surprised she isn’t on the Speech and Debate team. Girl knows how to use her words. _

“Thanks, guys! See you soon!” Klaus says, shooting Ben a triumphant look.  _ Twerp. Two can play this game, just you wait. You’re gonna wish you never tangled with the great Ben Hwang.  _

* * *

Oh, another thing Ben hated (not necessarily relating to a 5 AM practice).

He hated losing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, all of those things going on in Ben's head about swimming are legit. morning practice really does things to a person, lemme tell ya. #we all about that swimming life
> 
> i'm not on a student council of any kind so if there is anything i can do to make my writing seem more legit, please let me know!
> 
> i know i literally just started writing "Meet the Hargreeves" but i have the attention span of a second grader so i just wrote this. i will be updating MTH soon tho
> 
> side note: WSHS stands for West Sac High School (West Sac stands for West Sacramento, which is in California) (idk i just decided to set it in Cali because i've been there)
> 
> side note: yes, yes i named the art club the WAPS. not sorry


	2. Compromising? Never heard of her.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No offense, Klaus-”
> 
> “Why do I feel like whatever you’re going to say is going to be anything but not offensive?” Klaus interrupts. 
> 
> “Can I get in literally two words before you interrupt me?” Ben angrily exclaims, sick of not being listened to. “Or is that too much for your pea-brain to understand?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Tis I, back with another chapter.
> 
> For those of you that don't know swimming terms:  
> -Any numbers written in the first blurb are times. (ex - :32 low is 32 seconds and a few tenths)  
> -Sectionals is a pretty big swim competition for high school level swimmers (assuming they swim year-round).  
> -200 pace is your time for a 200-yard event divided by four (knowledge of this really isn't necessary to understand this story)  
> -If you have any other questions, you can leave a comment down below!
> 
> I refuse to not accept the idea that Diego and Ben have binge-watched Cobra Kai together. 
> 
> Enjoy, my comrades!!

Ben reaches toward the wall with two hands. Half a second later, they’re slamming into the T on the wall in harmony. Ben pops his head up and out of the water.

“:32 low!” Coach Williams calls out. “Ben, aren’t you doing 200-pace?”

Ben nods, breathing hard. 

“You’re going to have to be going :31s to do well at Sectionals! The cut is 2:09.69 - we have to be going best times at practice to do that in a meet!” Williams exclaims. Behind his goggles, Ben rolls his eyes.  _ Gee, sorry Coach. So sorry I was literally a few tenths of a second off of my pace. You know what? Why don’t you try swimming ten 50-yard swims in a row with literally seven seconds of rest? I don’t even think you’d last for two- _

“Okay!” he hollers back at his coach, who’s standing on the other side of the pool. Honestly, does he need reminder after reminder that the biggest swim meet of his season is coming up? It’s a month away, and Ben’s been putting in the work, showing up to every practice offered and doing weight training outside of the pool. 

* * *

“Hey, bro, we’re driving to school together, right?” Diego asks him after they finish warming down. Ben grunts in response and pushes himself out of the pool and onto the deck, his warm breath visible in the frigid air. 

Diego laughs. “Wow, is someone still mad about getting yelled at by Williams?” Ben turns to Diego, who had just hopped out of the pool after him, and rolls his eyes. “ _ Oh, I’m so sorry, Diego.  _ Not all of us can be suck-ups to Williams. No, that spot is reserved for you, Mr. I-Always-Hit-My-Pace-At-Practice.” Ben lowers the tone of his voice and drags his hand through his hair as if to imitate Diego. “Hey, my name’s Diego, and if my swim coach had a favorite swimmer, it would be me. Oh, also, I’m the star of the track team and use two bottles of gel in my hair every day-”

“OK, first of all, I don’t talk like that-”

“I beg to differ.” Diego glares at Ben. 

“And second of all, it’s not  _ my _ fault my superiors like me. I guess I just have a likable personality!” Diego defends.

“ _ Right _ . Because everyone likes an ‘I’m so great and macho I could save the president from getting assassinated and could steal your girl before noon,” Ben sasses back. 

“I bet I could save the president. As for the girl thing, I think that’s more your speed, Ben-O,” Diego says, marching towards the locker room. Ben laughs and follows him, saying, “Diego, don’t tell me you’re jealous of me.”

Diego rolls his eyes and laughs mockingly. “Hey, look, I’m Ben, and I’m Secretary of the Student Body Officers and have a girlfriend, unlike  _ Diego _ . What an astonishing amount of pull I have-”

“I don’t think green is your color, Diego,” Ben states. “You’re just mad I actually have someone to bring to the Winter Dance and you don’t.”

“You’re right! I don’t! Wanna be my wingman, bro?” Diego asks, excessively batting his eyelashes. Ben shoves him and rolls his eyes. “Of course, bro, I wouldn’t want anything else!”

“Wait- if I can’t get one, does this mean I’m stuck third-wheeling with you and Jill?” Diego realizes. Ben laughs and nods. “Absolutely. Better not let Luther see that though. He’d make a laughingstock of you.”

“Maybe I should ask Allison out to the dance just to piss him off.”

“Only if you want to get brutally murdered by him and his football goonies.”

“Fair point.”

* * *

They emerge from the locker room seven minutes later, changed into their school clothes. They pile into Ben’s hand-me-down, tan-and-white station wagon and Ben drives them to school, blasting 80s hits from his radio.

* * *

Ben makes it through the first half of his day without any hiccups. He doesn’t run into anyone in the hallway (any  _ certain _ person anyways) and is in a relatively good mood. That is until he remembers he has to be in the library at lunch. Again.  _ Just brilliant _ , Ben thinks. 

He takes his normal seat at the table and grabs his notepad out of his backpack. 

“Hey, guys! Thanks for being here today; I know we usually don’t make exceptions for people like this, but I think we could go somewhere with the WAPS’s idea. Are we all good to go?” Luther asks the room. Several heads bob in agreement and the library’s doors burst open to reveal a winded, curly-haired boy. He closes the door behind him and staggers to the middle of the room.

“Sorry I’m late, y’all! People in the hallway were walking  _ especially _ slow today. Unlike yesterday. People sure were, uh, rushing to class.” Klaus turns to Ben. “Isn’t that right, Ben?” Ben turns red and glowers back at him, saying, “They sure were,  _ Klaus _ .” 

Ben and Klaus glare at each other until Luther senses the growing tension and clears his throat. “Assuming we don’t want to be here for all of lunch, why don’t you tell us the rest of your idea, Klaus?”

Ben sees Klaus narrow his eyes and rip his eyes away from their ‘staring contest.’ He can sense his displeasure at having ‘lost’ the contest. 

“Sure thing, Mr. President. Anyway, where did we leave off yesterday?” Klaus pauses, probably for dramatic effect; at least, that’s what Ben thinks. “Ah, yes, I was building a scenario for you before I was  _ rudely _ interrupted by your Secretary!”

Ben opens his mouth to protest when Klaus continues:

“-So, you and your friend make a pact to go to the dance together if you can’t find dates. You and your bro go throughout the rest of your weeks looking for single people, but suddenly, everyone’s taken? So, what’s your next viable option for a date? Well, the answer to that, my esteemed colleagues, is the Kissing Booth! Yes, that’s right folks!”

Klaus raises his hands and draws two air quotes. “‘But Klaus,’” he says in a high pitched voice, “‘How would that even work? How would the Kissing Booth get me a date for the dance?’ To that, I would reply, ‘Well, poor, unfortunate soul, this is how it works: Person A signs up to be the ‘kisser,’ and basically stays in the booth as long as they want. We will have a couple of lines set up: two for people who want to be blindfolded and kiss people, and the other two for people who want to kiss one of the certain blindfolded folks. The blindfolded peeps can switch out with other people whenever they want. The point is for the people in line to kiss the person they would like to; if they wish to reveal their identity to the blindfolded person, there’s a chance they could get together and  _ voila _ !’” Klaus finishes. “Matchmaking, presented to you by me and the WAPS!”

Ben can’t resist the urge to roll his eyes; he had never heard anything more ridiculous. He speaks up:

“No  _ offense _ , Klaus-”

“Why do I feel like whatever you’re going to say is going to be anything but not offensive?” Klaus interrupts. 

“Can I get in  _ literally two words _ before you interrupt me?” Ben angrily exclaims, sick of not being listened to. “Or is that too much for your pea-brain to understand?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to listen to you, it’s that I can’t! I’m sorry, but my ‘pea-sized’ brain is having immense trouble comprehending your incessant grumbling!”

Ben gapes at Klaus. “My grumbling? Oh, well, maybe that’s because this is a dumb and flawed idea! Did you even consider what I said yesterd-”

“That’s enough! Both of you!” Luther shouts. He glares at Klaus and Ben as if he were chastising second graders. “I’m sure we can work this out like mature human beings!”

“I somehow doubt that,” Klaus mutters. Luther sighs and Allison speaks up. 

“Ben, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Luther, me, and a majority of our SBO approve of The Kissing Booth.  _ However _ , this doesn’t mean we don’t value your opinions or insight. Fortunately, I think I’ve come up with a solution to this little debacle.” She looks at Luther and he nods at her, urging her to continue.

“Ben, you and Klaus can work together to streamline and finalize the Kissing Booth. This way, you can collaborate and compromise. Ben, you can help Klaus make the booth safe and healthy, and in turn, Klaus, you can make sure the booth keeps its original integrity. It’s a win-win situation!”

“ _ And _ ,” she adds, “this can be an opportunity for you to work past any problems you have with each other. Maybe even become friends!”

Ben glares at her. “Allison, I can assure you,  _ he _ and I will never be friends.”

“ _ Damn. That’s cold, _ ” Klaus whispers.

“ _ However _ ,” Ben begrudgingly says, “I would be willing to help Klaus with the Kissing Booth if it means our students stay safe.”

Luther and Allison nod, satisfied with his answer. They turn to Klaus, who shrugs and says, “I’m game.”

Ben gets out of his seat and extends his hand to the boy with the green eyes. Klaus steps forward and shakes it; there’s no going back now.

“I look forward to our partnership,” Ben stiffly declares. 

“And I as well,” Klaus cooly replies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Ooh, that's pretty good. Very interesting. I think this is going quite 'swimmingly,'" my beta reader says as she helps me edit my work.
> 
> Thank you for reading!! (sorry for the shorter chapter)
> 
> P.S. yes, yes, I know: this is the second chapter I've posted without updating MTH (I'm very sorry about that)


	3. Make room for Jesus, ya nasties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decisions are made and embarrassing moments follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all! 
> 
> First of all, some vocab:
> 
> -fab forties: a really bougie area in Sacramento where all of the rich people live; the houses are historically important (I think Ronald Reagan lived in a house there once?)
> 
> I think that's it. (prob more at the endnotes)
> 
> Enjoy, mi amigos~

“So,” Klaus says the next day, sliding into the seat next to Ben. Ben looks up from his sandwich and glares at him.

“What? Have you come to gloat? Mock?” Ben asks.  _ Is it too much to ask for one lunch not disturbed by this peon? _

“What- no. Jesus, why does everything with you have to be so aggressive? I was literally gonna ask you about the Kissing Booth,” Klaus says, crossing his arms.

“Well, gee, since you didn’t get a chance to do your ‘victory lap’ yesterday, I assumed that’s what you wanted to do,” Ben defends. “Anyways, what do you want?”

“Since we have to collaborate and ‘work together’ on this whole thing, I figured it would be easier to ask you how you wanted to do this. Like, do you want to meet up after school and work on it, or like, during lunch?” the green-eyed boy inquires. Ben takes a moment to consider his statement and turns to him.

“I have swim practice pretty much right after school every day, so probably not after school. I guess I could work with you during lunch, but I don’t think that’ll be enough. Lord knows this idea needs a lot of help-”

“It’d be really nice to get through one conversation with you without you insulting me,” Klaus cuts in.

“Sorry,” Ben apologizes, not really meaning it. “You could come to my house after I get home from practice, I guess.”

The other boy smirks at him, more teeth than lip. “Wow, Hwang, inviting me to your house already? Usually, I take things a bit slower; and to think you hated me-”

“ _ Oh my god shut up! _ Can you not take anything seriously?”   
  


“I  _ can _ , it’s just very fun making fun of you,” Klaus teases. Ben shakes his head and continues. “Since we only have a few weeks till the Festival, you should probably come over every day, so we can be ready in two weeks' time. Think you could handle that, or does that not fit into your schedule?”

“Sure, I’m sure I can fit an hour or so of my evenings into my  _ very _ busy schedule,” Klaus sarcastically says.

“Good,” Ben says, exasperated. “Plan on getting there about 4:00 PM. I finish practice at 3:30, so I should be home about that time.”

“I’d love to, but I’d need your address first,” Klaus reminds him.

“Right.” Ben scribbles his address on a piece of scratch paper and hands it to Klaus. Klaus squints at it and his eyes widen. “You live in the fab forties? Well- can’t say I’m surprised, someone with a pretentious attitude like you-”

“I do  _ not _ have a pretentious attitude-”

“I beg to differ. Everywhere you walk you’re followed by a cloud of entitlement-”

“Maybe it’s called self-confidence. Is it a crime to be self-confident?” Ben asks.

“No, but I’m just saying, you’re not going to get a date with that kind of attitude. Hey, who knows, maybe the Kissing Booth will find you a romantic partner-”

“Unlike  _ you _ , I actually am in a relationship with someone. Someone I’m already taking to the dance, so I’ll pass on the Booth, thanks,” Ben declares.

“Really? I’m surprised-” Klaus starts before Ben cuts him off again.

“Why? Think I couldn’t pull a girlfriend?” 

“No, I’m just surprised someone would want to put up with your judgemental bullshit and shitty attitude. But to each his own, I suppose.”

“Wow. Thanks for that, dick,” Ben grumbles.

“You’re not disagreeing with me,” Klaus points out, shrugging. Ben makes sure he sees his blatant eye roll.

“Assuming things about people makes an ‘ass’ of ‘u and me.’ You shouldn’t do that, especially to people you don’t know. Jumping to conclusions is a very unattractive character trait,” Ben reprimands. “Neither is being a hot-headed idiot-”

“Hot? Yes. Head? Absolutely. Well, not from you, but-” Klaus says.

“I’m leaving this conversation!” Ben shouts over him. 

“What? Big, bad Ben Hwang can’t handle a simple conversation about sucking di-”

“Klaus, I’m sorry if I did anything to offend you in the past, but for the love of all things holy, shut the  _ fuck _ up.”

Klaus accepts defeat and smiles. “Alright. Have it your way,” he simpers, mockingly patting Ben’s shoulder. Klaus stalks off, knee-length cardigan swaying behind him. Ben scowls into his sandwich; he can’t even go twenty-four hours without that  _ parasite _ pesting him. And know he’s coming to Ben’s house after school almost every day?  _ Brilliant, just brilliant _ , Ben thinks.  _ Stupid Allison and her stupid plan. ‘Making friends’ with him? Ugh- _

Ben’s spiteful thoughts are interrupted by someone sitting on the seat next to him. He smells the familiar scent of vanilla and cinnamon;  _ Jill _ , Ben thinks.

“Hey, babe,” Ben greets. Jill wraps an arm around his waist and asks, “Who was that?”

“ _ Oh, hi Ben, nice to see you too. How is your day going? Good? I’m glad. How was my day? Just, peachy, thanks _ -” Ben grumbles. Jill rolls her eyes. “Gee, someone’s in a bad mood.”

“So,” she continues, “who was that?”

“That? Oh, maybe just the bane of my existence. I’m sure you’ve seen him around before. If the name ‘Klaus’ rings a bell, that’d be him!” Ben exclaims.

“Oh, I see. And what was he doing here?”

“Um…” Ben flounders. He’s technically not supposed to reveal anything about the festival to anyone (“For suspense!” Luther had said). “We have to work on a project together.”

“Mhm. For which class?” Jill questions, tangling a hand in Ben’s obsidian locks.

“My, my, we’re quite pushy today, aren’t we, Jill?” Ben says. What was her deal? Couldn’t she sense he didn’t want to talk about it? 

Jill glares at him. “I don’t think I’m being ‘pushy.’ I’m simply inquiring what my boyfriend has been doing with the very person who kicked me out of the WAPS.”

“He kicked you out of his art club?” Ben asks incredulously.

“Yeah, he did. Something to do with my ‘needy’ and ‘attention-seeking’ attitude-”

“That’s bullshit! What an asshole!” Ben exclaims. Jill nods in agreement. “I’m glad we’re on the same page about that loser. I’m really sorry that you have to work with him on this mystery project,” Jill says, standing up. She roughly tugs her hand out of his hair and Ben winces.

“You’re leaving already? You just got here!” he protests.

“Yeah, this was fun and all, but I’m going to go find Keechie. I have to… help him with something. An English paper.”

Jill rushes off.  _ What’s her deal? _ Ben wonders. 

The lunch bell shrieks throughout the campus, piercing through Ben’s eardrums. With a sigh, he packs his belongings and heads to his last couple of periods for the day.

* * *

“No fuckin’ way!” Diego exclaims after practice. “You have to do a project with him now?”

Ben nods and continues walking to his car. “It’s really stupid. Allison and all of her ‘leader’ bullshit decided it was going to work best for the ‘project.’”

“And who is this kid, again? Klaw, um, no- Cloud-”

“Klaus,” Ben supplies.

“Yeah, Klaus. Why do you hate him?” Diego inquires.

“He’s a cocky, ignorant dunce who doesn’t know a thing about safety!”

Diego raises his eyebrows at him. “Ya know, there might be some commonalities between you two.”   
  
“Like what? I, for one, couldn’t possibly think of one thing that devil and I have in common-”

“Ben, you’re one of the most arrogant people I’ve ever met. Sure, it adds to your personality, but you can come off as rude and standoffish. You’re also probably the stubbornest bastard I’ve seen. I remember you once refused to speak to me for a week because I accidentally stepped on your new white Vans-”

“Man, I was  _ so _ close to murdering you with a socket wrench that day,” Ben recalls.

“Exactly. Stubborn and rude; the way you’re describing this guy seems awfully familiar to me,” Diego says. Ben glares at him as he wrenches the door to his station wagon open.

“ _ Uh-huh _ . Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with the Devil.”

“Keep me updated! Remember to play nicely with the other kids, dear!” Diego shouts after him as Ben pulls out of the parking lot. 

Ben salutes Diego with his middle finger.

* * *

Ben pulls into his garage two minutes before 4:00 and quickly rushes inside his house.

“Mom! Dad! I’m home!” Ben shouts into the seemingly empty living room. He kicks his sneakers off and hangs his wet swim gear up on a rack to dry.

“I’m here, I’m here, no need to shout,” Mr. Hwang grumbles from his armchair next to their Christmas tree. “How was practice, son?”

Ben internally groans. He knows anything he says will turn into a lecture about “not trying hard enough, Ben,” or “if you swim like that at practice you’ll swim like that at meets.” 

“It was good. We worked on more pace and Coach Williams said that my breaststroke was looking strong and efficient,” Ben lists. His father gives a satisfied nod and says, “Good. Do you have a lot of homework?”

“Yeah, kinda. I have a lot of problems to do for AP Calc BC, but other than that I’m pretty much done.”

“Oh,” Ben adds, “Before I forget, I have to work on a project with this idio- other kid for the Winter Festival. Is it okay that I invited him over after swimming for the next two weeks?”

Mr. Hwang takes a moment to consider his request before nodding. “I don’t see why not. Do I know this individual?”

“No, probably not. He’s just some kid from an art club.”

“And what project would this be?”

“It’s for the Winter Festival. People could pitch ideas for booths to run at the Festival, and this guy came up with the Kissing Booth. I have to work with him to make it safe for the students and all that.”

Ben’s father looks puzzled and then concerned. “But we won’t be, um, experimenting and trying out ideas for said Kissing Booth, will we? Because you know I don’t have a problem with whoever you’re interested in, but I don’t want to have to take you to the hospital for herpes-”

“Geez, Dad! No, I will not be kissing him, or doing anything else like that! I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole! I’m offended you would think that of me!” Ben exclaims, scandalized.

His father just raises his brows and mummers, “If you say so.” Ben makes a choked sound and throws his hands up in the air, exasperated.

Thankfully, the doorbell rings, and Ben is spared from any more embarrassing comments from his father. Still in his socks, he glides on the tiled floor to the front door and checks the eyehole.  _ Great. It’s Klaus _ , Ben thinks as he yanks the door open with a  _ squeak! _

* * *

Klaus stands there, awkwardly shifting his balance from one foot to the other.

“I hope I’m not too early,” he says, looking at his phone. Ben straightens up and crosses his arms. “Quite the opposite, in fact.” He glances at the time on Klaus’s phone. “A few minutes late,” Ben adds.

“Well, sorry, princess, the traffic was murder.” Klaus’s voice takes on a sarcastic tone. “Please, allow me to make it up to you by arriving earlier tomorrow!”

With an eye roll, Ben responds, “Acceptable, I suppose.”

“Ben! Aren’t you going to invite him in?” Ben’s dad yells from the living room.

“Yes, father,” Ben mumbles back and opens the door wider, stepping to the side and sweeping his arm inside his house, inviting Klaus in.

“Why thank you, kind sir,” Klaus mocks and shuffles inside the house. Ben closes the door behind him and watches as Klaus removes his shoes and places them next to the shoe rack in the entry hallway. 

“What?” Klaus asks as he notices Ben gawking at him.

“No- nothing,” Ben stammers. “It’s not very common for someone to remove their shoes when they enter a house, that’s all.”

“Well, I noticed you weren’t wearing any shoes. Also, my dad is kinda a stickler for a clean, dirt-free house. Which is ironic, considering-”

Klaus stops himself and frowns. “Nevermind.” Ben shrugs it off and says, “Well, we should probably get started on the Kissing Booth. You wanna work downstairs or in my room?”

“I could honestly care less,” Klaus responds. 

“Alright, I guess we could go to my room,” Ben decides. He motions to Klaus to follow him, and they make their way past the living room to the staircase. 

Klaus stops them and greets Ben’s father. “Good afternoon, Mr. Hwang,” he says to Ben’s father, who had been watching them since they walked in the room. Mr. Hwang looks surprised before he smiles and says back, “Well, hello, young man! What’s your name?”

“Klaus, sir. May I just say you have a lovely home?” Klaus responds.

“Why, thank you, Klaus. All praise goes to my son, though. He was a tremendous help in choosing our wall colors and accent wall colors!”

“Is that so?” Klaus asks, slyly glancing at Ben.  _ Really? _ his smirk seems to say. Ben rolls his eyes in response.

“Indeed! Quite the eye, my boy. Anyway, I’m sure you and Ben need to work on your project now. Have fun!” Mr. Hwang says. Klaus nods and Ben resumes walking up the stairs. 

They make their way to the second floor when Mr. Hwang suddenly calls after them, “Keep the door open!”

Ben groans and shouts back a flustered, “Dad!” 

“Make room for Jesus!” Mr. Hwang reminds. Ben grabs Klaus’s sleeve and tugs them down the hallway leading to his room.

Once out of earshot, Klaus turns to Ben and cheekily remarks, “Keep the door open, eh? Something you’re not telling me, Ben-O?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, asshat. You can be all nice and polite to my dad, but I see through that,” Ben hisses. “You’re just a self-absorbed wet sock-”

“Remember, Ben,” Klaus warns, “My pure, innocent ears can’t withstand hearing such allegations!”

“Whatever.” Ben shoves the door to his room open and immediately drops his backpack on the floor. He beelines for his drawers and opens a certain one.

“Whatcha doing, Benny?” Klaus asks, suddenly standing over his shoulder. 

“Socks,” Ben responds, rifling through the drawer. His right-hand finds its prize and he fishes out a pair of fluffy, plaid socks. Ben wastes no time in ripping his old socks off and replacing them with the new socks. He looks over to Klaus, who has plopped down on the floor a few feet away from him.

“What?” Ben inquires in response to Klaus’s evident shock.

“Oh, no, I just thought you were looking for um- uh- something else.” Klaus makes a slight up and down gesture with his hand and Ben shoots him a disgusted look.

“Ugh, no!  _ Especially _ not when you’re here!” Ben exclaims. Klaus supplies him a not-so-embarrassed-for-asking smile.

“Anyways,” Klaus says, filling the growing awkwardness. “Let’s get working, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we stan a good, peace-making bro Diego.
> 
> we also stan a suspicious Mr. Hwang ;))
> 
> OoooOOHoOhOOhooHoO! What are they gonna do next? 
> 
> Feel free to comment, kudo, or heck, why not both? <333333
> 
> P.S. y'all that don't like wearing comfy/fluffy socks are depriving yourselves of one of the world's greatest pleasures. (that sounds really weird, tho.)
> 
> (sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes)
> 
> P.P.S. can y'all believe i only planned for this whole fic to be four (4) chapters? (dear lord, i lie to myself so much)


	4. Will you be my wingbro, bro?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Group projects suck. Especially if you don’t like your partners.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter one today, y'all~
> 
> Darn, I really wish I could dedicate a chapter to someone on here. If I could, this chapter is for the lovely S!! Thank you for each of your comments; they're so kind and encouraging!
> 
> Enjoy!!

_ “Anyways,” Klaus says, filling the growing awkwardness. “Let’s get working, shall we?” _

* * *

“Klaus, it’s not called a ‘group’ project for nothing,” Ben sighs, ripping Klaus’s phone out of his hands.

“Hey! Give that back, Bennifer!” Klaus protests. 

Ben glares at him. “You have to help me with the Booth, remember? Not scroll through-” Ben checks the phone screen, squinting his eyes in an attempt to read what was on the dimly lit screen. “-whatever it is you’re scrolling through.”

Klaus rolls his eyes. “For your  _ information _ , I was doing a little research on herpes.”

“Oh? And what have you learned?”

“Ah, you know, the typical ‘spread by bodily fluids, skin, and sex’ shit. I mean, I don’t necessarily see the  _ huge _ risk in this Kissing Booth now that I’m actually looking at this-”

“Klaus, kissing spreads saliva! That’s a bodily fluid!” Ben exclaims, exasperated.

“Um, not if you don’t do it with tongue!” Klaus shoots right back. Ben barely resists the urge to smack his forehead with his Calculus book. 

“Even when you kiss someone on the cheek you can get saliva on them,” Ben informs Klaus. Klaus gives him a skeptical look.

“Based on my own personal experience, I haven’t gotten  _ spit on _ by the people I kiss, Ben.”

“Not spit! Just saliva on people’s lips!”

Klaus gives Ben a mock sympathetic look. “You haven’t been kissing the right people then,” he snidely remarks.

“And you have?”

“I mean, people with more style and class then that girlfriend of yours, Benny-boo-”

“Don’t go insulting Jill like that,” Ben snaps. “And you talk about class and style? What hypocrisy. I’m shocked people would even think about getting close enough to kiss you! In fact, if you’re such a lady-charmer, why are you so intent on this Kissing Booth idea of yours? If not to benefit you? Hah, I see it all now. It’s just a ploy for lonely schemers such as yourself!”

Instead of looking insulted and offended as Ben had expected, Klaus laughs.  _ He’s laughing? Laughing?  _ Ben thinks.  _ Is he mocking me? _

Klaus  _ tuts _ and clicks his tongue. “Now, now, Ben, we shouldn’t go assuming things about people. I’ll have you know I’m quite the charmer  _ in general _ . I don’t limit myself to just one sex--where’s the fun in that?”

“Anyways, unlike  _ you _ , I don’t think of just myself. There are other people at our school, you know. I’m surprised you hadn’t realized that; you being on the Student Council and all that-” 

Klaus pauses his lecture to clear his throat. “-And third of all, why do you care so much about this whole thing? It’s to boost student morale and be an exciting thing for them. For me too! The Kissing Booth isn’t just about getting a boyfriend or girlfriend. It’s about trying different things and being curious!”

Klaus’s voice takes on a more sincere tone now. “You know what I wish for you, Ben? I  _ really _ wish you could see past the health concerns of it all and just think about it from a normal teenagers’ perspective. All of us more or less start out the same: Freshmen, alone, nervous, and caring what everyone else thinks of us. I think that’s your downfall, dude. You care  _ too much. _ You care to the point that it seems you don’t care at all! You’re so afraid of letting other people close to you you’re just a cold asshole all the time!”

“Sure, there are certain risks to this Kissing Booth, but will it be worth it in the end? To see a smile on your fellow peers’ faces? To know you’ve benefited actual people and not an STD statistic?” 

Ben stares at Klaus, bewildered.  _ You know he’s right, _ a small voice in Ben’s head whispers.

* * *

_ He’s actually listening _ , Klaus thinks.  _ That’s a breakthrough, isn’t it? _

* * *

Ben relents to the reasoning of Klaus and his (annoyingly correct) conscience. “You’re right,” he admits to Klaus. “I joined the Student Council to help people and students, not to be an overbearing mother-hen that’s too afraid of the consequences of something new.”

“And?” Klaus prompts.

Ben gives him a confused look. “And what?”

Klaus rolls his eyes. “I think an ‘I’m sorry for making your life at least three times harder, Klaus’ would be appropriate. Go on,” he says.

“Don’t push your luck,” Ben snaps. “You’re forgetting that your beloved Kissing Booth is costing me extra time  _ after _ school to help you work on this. In fact, I think  _ you _ owe me a ‘thank you’ for working with you on this!”

He matches Klaus’s growing glare and shoves Klaus’s phone back into his hands. “Here,” he waspishly says. 

“Thanks,” Klaus shoots back with equal venom. 

“I think I should be getting home now,” he says after standing up a few moments later. “Thanks for having me, I guess.” Ben just nods and gets up. 

They silently walk back down the stairs and make their way towards the door. 

“Ben?” Ben turns around and is greeted by the sight of his mother watching them in the hallway. “Who’s your friend?”

“Just a guy from school. We’re working on a Winter Festival Booth together,” Ben tonelessly responds.

“Hi, ma’am. I’m Klaus,” Klaus speaks up from beside Ben. Stifling a groan, Ben turns around and heads towards their front door, wanting to be spared from an interaction with his mom  _ and _ (Ben’s not quite sure he can use the word ‘enemy’ anymore) his  _ associate _ .

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Klaus,” he hears his mom say from the hallway. 

“Likewise!” Klaus chirps back.

Ben hasn’t ever been more eager to usher someone out.

* * *

The crisp December air whips Ben’s face as he bikes to school the next day. Pulling up next to the bike racks located to the back of the school, he dismounts and locks his bike up. His ears pick up a faint roaring sound coming from the front of the school and decide to check it out.  _ Maybe someone finally was caught vaping in the bathroom _ , he thinks. Ben strolls his way to the front entrance of WSHS, and the sound grows increasingly louder. His eyes are bombarded by an astounding sight when he arrives. 

Streamers and balloons hang from the school’s entry gateway and loud pop music is pumping through two massive speakers. A handful of students hold neon arrows cut from construction paper and the tips of the arrows are pointing to someone in the middle of the crowd. 

In all of his glory, Diego stands in the heart of the decorations and students. He smiles cheekily and holds a neon orange poster that reads: Will you be my wingbro, bro?

A girl Ben recognizes from his AP Chemistry class (Ben thinks her name is Vanya) hands Diego a microphone hooked up to another speaker. She lowers the music and the crowd quiets down, settling on watching the scene unfold with bated breath.

Diego raises the mic to his mouth. A squeal of feedback rips through the school and Ben winces.

“BEN HWANG!” he projects into the crowd. “MY BEST BRO FOR LIFE! MI COMPADRE OF ALL THESE YEARS! THE ONLY SWIMMER I KNOW TO MAKE IT TO ALL OF OUR MORNING PRACTICES!”

Ben weakly waves back. He’s never been one for public embarrassment. Diego swaggers forward and throws the sign to the side, placing a hand on Ben’s shoulder. 

“BEN!” he starts before kneeling to the ground on one knee. “WILL YOU BE MY WINGBRO?”

Rolling his eyes, Ben decides to play along to Diego’s theatrics and rips the mic from Diego’s hand. 

“YES!” he shouts into the mic. “I WOULDN’T WANT TO BE ANYBODY ELSE!”

The crowd cheers and the neon arrows are lofted into the air in celebration. 

“But seriously,” Diego says to Ben. “Can you help me find a date for the dance? Can you help a fellow bro out?”

“Of course, man,” Ben says back. “Can’t have you third-wheeling all night, can I?” Diego smiles at that and slings an arm around Ben’s shoulders.

The warning bell shrieks through the school and the crowd quickly dissipates to get to their first periods. Diego and Ben walk arm in arm throughout the hallways before Diego gets to his math class. 

  
“See you at lunch, wingbro!” Diego adieus and ducks into his classroom. Ben rolls his eyes in response and makes his way to AP Lit.  _ Dramatic asshole _ , he thinks.  _ All of the guys in this school and I had to pick that one to be my best friend? Real smart, Hwang. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, Ben, chill with the insults. 
> 
> Pop off, Klaus!!
> 
> Oh man, we love a good Diego/Ben brotp. We also love high school shenanigans.
> 
> Lmao, y’all thought they were going to become friends in this chapter? (don’t worry, soon enough, my friends)
> 
> Please feel free to comment to leave feedback! (goodness knows I love each and every one of them)


	5. TikTok and Coconut Mall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego struggles with his feelings and reflects on Ben's life decisions. Oh, and he also meets Klaus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bienvenidos!
> 
> Lots of internal/character study(ish) in this chapter; this is also mainly from Diego's POV
> 
> For reference, SC stands for Student Council
> 
> Also, Klaus plays the piano because I said so. (he likes playing coconut mall on the piano in the school’s music room before the school day starts)

Ben finds Diego at lunch. It’s not hard, considering a flock of awestruck freshman trail after him, giggling amongst themselves and making flirtatious gestures at Diego. Diego ignores them all; he’ll tell you he would never go to the dance with any person a year younger than him, much less a freshman. Ben knows the real reason he won’t agree to any of them, though; Diego has his eyes set on a much more difficult prize. 

Diego spots Ben and waves him over. Once next to him, Diego whispers in his ear, “It’s crazy, right? All these chicks-” he gestures to the mass-” following me around the whole day. One of ‘em even touched me!”

Ben shrugs. “Well, since you’ve officially declared yourself as ‘looking for a date,’ you should’ve been expecting this. Seeing as that you’ve acquired your own fan club, do you still need my help finding a date?”

Diego shakes his head, horrified. “ _ You know you can’t do that!  _ I still need your help, uh, see, I don’t wanna say  _ seducing _ , but yeah, I need your help seducing  _ her. _ ”

Ben smacks his forehead. “Why are you so hung up on a girl who doesn’t even know you exist?” Diego rubs his hands together sinisterly. 

“She will soon.” His eyes widen as someone walks into the sunny, grassy lunch area. The said person takes a seat at a table packed with seniors and kicks her combat boot-clad feet onto the tabletop. “ _ There she is. Wish me luck,”  _ Diego hisses.

Ben internally groans. “Just don’t make a fool of yourself, Diego,” he tells him. Diego makes an offended face. “Me? Never!” 

With that, Diego winks at Ben and stands up brushing imaginary dirt off his pants. The crowd of girls parts, quietly giggling and ogling him. He struts across the stretch of grass separating their two tables and walks up behind the reclining girl.

* * *

Now, for some background, you should probably know something about Diego. He loves waiting for the right moment for anything (including introducing himself to the girl he’s infatuated with). Ben has watched Diego attempt to ask the said girl out roughly six times. Twice during freshman year (once for the Homecoming dance, the other time for an after-school coffee date), and four times during sophomore year (the first to Homecoming-yes, again-the second to his swim meet, the third to go see a movie, and the fourth to study for their math finals at the end of the year). Ben has watched Diego walk up to her six times, and has watched him chicken out and rush back to Ben six times. Now, if you ever asked Diego this, he would tell you he’s building up the romantic tension (Ben, having known the guy since fifth grade, knows this is bullshit).

* * *

“So, how did it go?” Ben asks Diego after he came jogging back to Ben across the quad. Diego shakes his head.

“Didn’t feel right so I took off before she saw me,” he says, shrugging. 

“One day she’s gonna notice and think you’re a total creep,” Ben warns. “So I say, grow a pair and ask her out; the worst thing that could happen is her saying no!”

Diego groans. “But that’s so  _ humiliating,  _ bro! Ugh, why can’t I just go with you to the Winter Formal, Ben?”

“We’ve been over this, man. I’m taking Jill to the dance,” Ben informs him for the second time. 

“Does Jill have any friends that are interested in a one-time date? Like, no serious commitment, just a single dance?” Diego asks him. Ben shrugs.

“I mean, I could ask her, but most likely no.” Ben thinks some more and a sinister thought works its way into his head. “Actually, no, I do think I know someone who needs a date. Would you be open to a boy?”

Diego gives him a thumbs up. “Why not? I know everyone wants a piece of this action!” He flexes his biceps over his head and smirks. Ben represses the urge to roll his eyes; his mom did tell him it’s bad to do it too much.

“Whatever, Macho-Man. Anyways, do you wanna know who it is?”

Diego eagerly leans forward. “Yessiree, I do!”

Ben tries not to laugh as he says, “Klaus.”

Diego rears back and stares at him, flabbergasted. “Klaus...as in, the dude you hate and have to do your project with? You want me to go with  _ him _ ?” Diego’s voice rises an octave with every word.

Ben cackles and laughs so much he has to clutch his stomach. Wiping tears budding in his eyes, Ben nods and chokes out, “Yep!”

Diego gives him a stern look. “Ben, you’re not being serious, are you?”

Ben gives him a funny look. “Hell no! You think I would wish that on anybody?”

Diego rolls his eyes at that. “Yeah, real funny joke, bro. Just wait till you guys are best friends and are going over to each other’s houses every day after school.” He considers his statement. “Well actually, the last part is kinda true. So, just wait till y’all have inside jokes and all that.”

“I guess it’s more likely than you ever asking her out,” Ben says, gesturing to Diego’s crush.

“Bet!” Diego challenges. 

“Bet,” Ben taunts back. “I honestly don’t know why you like that girl, though. She’s fucking scary.”

“Who, Lila?” Diego asks. “Nah, man! I think she’s the most breathtaking person I’ve ever seen.”

* * *

Diego has known Ben since fifth grade. Having been his best friend since that fateful first day of the fifth grade, Diego knows a thing or two about Ben’s habits and behaviors. If you asked him, Diego would tell you Ben is one of the most caring, vulnerable, and stubborn people he’s ever met; of course, this comes as a shock to most people because to strangers, Ben is stand-offish, rude, and bull-headed. It’s a good thing that Diego is stubborn and strong-willed too; he’ll admit that it took him roughly two years to finally crack Ben’s rough exterior. Once he did, Diego and Ben were inseparable. In elementary school, it was rare to see them not sitting next to each other in class or not playing together on the playground during recess. Partner projects were always completed with Ben by Diego’s side, and Diego by Ben’s. If a young, dumb student ever made fun of Diego’s stutter, Ben would shoot them a glare and insult them so horribly they would cry for the next ten minutes. In middle school, their bond only grew, and it got to the point that if you accidentally bumped into Ben in the hallway, Diego would forcefully grab you by your backpack and shove you into a locker. 

Indeed, Diego and Ben were quite the pair, and if you fucked with one, you fucked with both of them. Fortunately, high school had pacified a few of their violent tendencies. Diego and Ben would both look back at their old, elementary and middle school habits and say, “Yeah, that was a bit immature.” Now, Ben used backhanded compliments and sarcastic comments to get his point across, and Diego used...well, less force (he always worked out his pent-up aggression and anger on the track or in the pool). 

  
  


Since Diego  _ did _ know Ben down to the dots of his “i’s” and crosses of his “t’s,” when Ben told him how much he hated that kid (Klaus?), Diego knew how wrong he was. Ben hid his real emotions behind a mask, and it took someone years to learn how to see past it. He really cares about other people, and when their safety is threatened, Ben would...attack. When the students and school he cares about are opposed with a problem, Ben would have no problem eliminating it. (Diego was honestly surprised when he didn’t try out for Student Council President.) So, when Diego learned about The Kissing Booth (from a loose-lipped SC Vice-President), he knew Ben would oppose it. With a mother that’s a gynecologist, Ben was used to hearing the dangers and risks of doing certain, uh, activities. Diego could just imagine it: Ben getting worked up because of herpes and HIV and all that (sue him, he wasn’t really paying attention in Sex-Ed in seventh grade), Ben verbally abusing Klaus because he doesn’t think the Kissing Booth is a good idea, and Ben growing resentful towards Klaus because he didn’t do a good enough job to get the Booth banned. That was one of Ben’s most prominent flaws: thinking he is responsible for everyone and everything, and therefore, everything that goes wrong is his fault.

Diego knows a lot of things. He knows that this flaw will bite Ben in the ass one day. He knows, inevitably, Jill will leave Ben, and Ben will blame himself. Diego knows Ben hates public embarrassment (hence, the whole wingbro thing). Lastly, Diego knows Ben is impulsive. He’ll say something and regret it the next. Ben dwells on things. He wonders how they could’ve gone differently.

Diego also knows a few things about himself. One of them being, as Ben’s best bro, it’s his job to do exactly the opposite of what he advises. Call it teenage rebellion, if you will. So when Ben indirectly said, “Stay away from Klaus, he’s crazy, man,” Diego was planning to do the exact opposite. I mean, can you blame Diego for wanting to meet the guy? Was there so much that was wrong with Klaus to make Ben hate him? Why were they squabbling about this godforsaken Kissing Booth? 

Well, as the saying goes: curiosity killed the cat. 

* * *

Klaus is enjoying a nice, chill period of music class. The teacher is off doing god-knows-what (Klaus guesses that’s because the teacher honestly doesn’t care what happens when he’s gone) and the other students are just on their phones or twiddling with their instruments. As for himself, Klaus is perched on a piano bench by the piano in the room watching TikTok.

“Put a finger down: main character edition! Put a finger down if-”

Scroll. He doesn’t need some stranger telling him if he’s important or not; Klaus already knows he is, thank you very much.

“Today I’m going to teach you how to make easy, homemade pasta. First, you’re going to get two cups of-”

Scroll. Klaus has seen too many pasta videos on his For You Page and is honestly sick of them.

“I want you to park that big mac truck right in this little gara-”

Scroll. If he sees another basic teenage girl showing off her “talent” of rapping all of Cardi B’s WAP, Klaus is going to throw up.

“POV: you and I are trying to survive in the apocalypse-”

Scroll. He hates POV’s. Unless they’re meme POV’s, that is.

“When marimba rhythms start to play-”

Gross. Thirst traps.

A middle-aged professor in a maroon shirt.

Pass. He’s around school enough.

_ Slam! _

The front door or the music room is wrenched open and is slammed shut. A tall, tan, broad-shouldered boy struts in and makes a beeline for the front of the classroom.

He clears his throat. 

“Is there someone named ‘Klaus’ in here?” he asks. Several students nod and point towards the piano and Klaus. The boy thanks them and swaggers over to Klaus. Once he makes it over to him, he gestures toward the piano.

“Piano, eh?”

“Yeah,” Klaus replies. “If you don’t mind me asking, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, sir? Because if I owe you money, I assure you, I’ve probably paid you back-”

“No, no,” the boy interrupts. “I’m here because of the-” He holds two hands up in the chef’s kiss pinch and touches the tips of his hands together. “-ya know, the-” The boy waggles his eyebrows at Klaus.

“What? The Kissing Booth?” Klaus asks. The boy frantically shushes him. “ _ Quiet! Not so loud, dude!” _

Klaus’s eyes widen in understanding. “ _ Are you one of those SC reps? _ ”

The boy shakes his head. “Nah, bro, but I do know some people in SC. I’m Diego.” Diego extends his hand and Klaus shakes it.

“Well, nice to meet you, Diego. I’m assuming you already know my name, but why are you here? You’ve interrupted a very, uh, productive session of piano practice.”

Diego laughs. “Sorry ‘bout that man. I’m just here because of Ben.”

Klaus feels his face slump into an immediate frown. “I see. Has he sent you to check up on my progress on the Booth? If so, you can politely tell him to go shove ruler up his ass-”

Diego rolls his eyes.  _ Jesus, it’s like the two have the same brain; sarcastic shits. _ “No, I’m just here because he rants to me about you and I decided to see if you were at all rant-worthy,” he blatantly informs.

“I see. Well, yes, I am most  _ definitely _ rant worthy, and you can go tell Mr. Secretary to stop obsessing about me,” Klaus cheekily says. “If that’s all, einen schönen tag noch, Feliz Navidad, Happy New Year, and goodbye!” Diego laughs.

“I can see why you two get along so well,” Diego remarks. 

“Quite the contrary, Diego! I can hardly get a sentence in before he starts blabbing how dumb I am. ‘Tis quite annoying,” Klaus informs.

“Well, that’s just how he acts to people he’s just met. He probably just thinks he’s better than you,” Diego says.

Klaus laughs. “Better than  _ moi _ ? Is that even possible?”

_ Christ,  _ Diego thinks.  _ This is some old-married-couple shit. _

“I mean, I don’t really know you well enough to decide  _ that _ . But if I’m speaking about me, I’ll just say that I’m tired of his complaining. I’m basically here to tell you that it’s much harder to work with someone when you’re not civil to them.”

“So what? You want us to be friends? That’s a bit of a stretch, Dee-”

“Just fuckin’  _ try _ , man. For me?” Diego wheedles.

“For someone I literally met two seconds ago?” Klaus asks, skeptical.

“Dude, I figured there’s a better chance of you listening to me than Ben.”

“Fair point.” Klaus sighs dramatically, running his hand over the keys of the piano. “ _ Fine _ . I’ll try. For your sanity.”

Diego internally cheers. “Thanks, man. It’s much appreciated, trust me.” Whispering now, Diego murmurs, “Someday, you guys might thank me for this.”

* * *

Once he leaves the classroom, Diego takes out his phone and opens his messages. He selects  _ Mr. Hwang _ . 

The top text is from Mr. Hwang, reading:  _ Hello, Diego! I do hope it’s okay Ben gave me your number. I have a favor to ask you: there’s a boy that Ben is working with for their ‘Kissing Booth.’ I can sense there is something going on between the two, but I can’t put my finger on it. Would you mind observing them on campus and during school and reporting back to me? I’m just a bit confused as to their dynamic; is Ben dating him and hasn’t told me about it? I’d like to have an honest and open relationship with my son, I’m sure you understand. _

To that, Diego had responded:  _ Of course, Mr. Hwang!  _

From: Mr. Hwang

_ Thank you, Diego! It is much appreciated. _

Diego flexes his thumbs before typing:

_ Good afternoon, Mr. Hwang. I hope all is well. I just met Klaus, the boy Ben is working with, and he seems fine enough.  _

_ I definitely see what you are talking about, though. _

_ Even though they are not together, I can totally see it. Glad to help! _

Mr. Hwang’s response comes almost immediately.

_ I must admit, I think I like him more than that girl Ben’s involved with, Jill. In regards to Ben and Klaus, I do (in your generation’s odd lingo,) in fact, ship it. _

  
Diego stifles a laugh at Mr. Hwang’s attempt at Gen-Z's sayings. Diego does agree with him, though. He definitely ships Klaus and Ben.  _ A truly unlikely OTP, _ he thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story, in no way, is undermining the risks, danger, and seriousness of STDs and STIs. If you may have contracted an STD/STI, please contact your doctor; some of them are life-threatening and can lead to more serious diseases; sometimes, death. Please take the proper precautions to ensure your and your partner’s safety!
> 
> personally, I’m not one of those people who are obsessed with Diego (nah, bros, we all know who I simp over) so if the description of how y’all simp over him is wrong, please forgive me. 
> 
> I love Diego/Eudora, but in my opinion, Diego/Lila is superior.
> 
> Also, it’s actually not bad to roll your eyes a lot, according to the websites I visited. (I mean, it can be perceived as rude, but in regards to eye health, it’s not bad to roll your eyes as it exercises the eye muscles.)
> 
> Mr. Hwang and Diego really are out here being the ultimate Klaus/Ben shippers. 
> 
> P.S. My beta reader added, and I quote, #killjillsirens (kill jill sirens, like kill bill sirens) to the end edits there and I had to delete it, but it was just so funny I had to add it here.
> 
> P.P.S. If any of you understood that High School Musical reference, feel free to contact me to rant about how they never did thank him. (rude)


End file.
